Biometrics are coming, military first. (well, my dog got his RFID first) Get used to it. The new ID cards will make increasing amounts of data available to anyone with access.

There is a bit of dark humor and macho posturing with labeling or even tattooing blood type on the body, as well as wearing the little velcro blood type patches. But if it reminds you to work on keeping it inside and going 'round and 'round, instead of leaking all over my boots, that's a good thing.

Putting your name and emergency contact info on a tag, patch or your body is a lot more useful than your blood type to civilian medicine, and putting your SSN on each limb (inside boots, bracelets) is more useful to the military.

The whole program ICE (In Case of Emergency)information on your cell phone thing makes sense. But, on the other hand, I've never bothered to look there, and I'm not likely to carry your phone to the ER, either. Hands down, the best place to carry medical ID is a medic alert type bracelet worn on your LEFT Wrist. Bonus points if you can guess why.

Jeff